Karen Briere

For the first time since becoming Saskatchewan’s agriculture minister, Mark Wartman was able to announce that crop insurance coverage is going up and premiums are going down. That likely won’t make everyone happy because coverage is still below the costs of production and the premium rates will drop, on average, just 3.4 percent. Agricultural Producers […] Read more

The fight against gophers got some extra ammunition last week when Saskatchewan Crop Insurance announced coverage for crops that fail to establish because of the rodents. Coverage under the establishment benefit has sometimes been paid in the past but is now official. “It’s recognition of the problem,” said Allan Oliver, who farms near Aneroid in […] Read more

PIAPOT, Sask. – Harry Forbes never did like walking. Dancing, well, that’s different. But why walk anywhere when a good horse or a vehicle will do? So two weeks into basic training, in April 1942, the 24 year old signed up for the artillery. “I was always allergic to walking,” Forbes wrote in his self-published […] Read more

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers is expanding its Saskatchewan presence with the acquisition of Clarke Auctioneers Ltd. of Rouleau, Sask. Ritchie Bros. announced Feb. 15 it had signed a letter of intent to acquire the business and assets of Clarke Auctioneers, effective March 15. Auctioneers Darren and Jordan Clarke are expected to join Ritchie Bros. at that […] Read more

The Saskatchewan government took control of a rural municipality last week after half the council resigned and quorum couldn’t be reached. Government relations minister Harry Van Mulligen appointed Regina lawyer and former legislative law clerk Merilee Rasmussen to act as both reeve and council in the RM of Sherwood until a byelection can be held. […] Read more

Nearly three months after Charlie Watson’s death at Canadian Western Agribition, police are repeating their request for anyone with information to come forward. The Regina Police Service issued a statement last week asking for help with the investigation. Watson, 52, of Forest Hill, Ont., was a well-known Charolais breeder whose body was found in a […] Read more

The Grain Services Union has asked a federal conciliator to help resolve issues between two of its bargaining units and Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner said the offices and operations-maintenance units have been without contracts since Jan. 31, 2006. Bargaining started a month earlier, but negotiations stalled over a pension plan deficit. […] Read more

Saskatchewan needs a stronger agricultural trade presence in Asia, says agriculture minister Mark Wartman. He returned Feb. 7 from a two-week trade mission to China and Japan, where he met with representatives from all agricultural sectors and visited the Canadian Wheat Board offices in Tokyo and Beijing. “Asian nations prefer dealing directly on the future […] Read more

SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. – New chickpea growers can make things easier on themselves by choosing the right variety, researcher Yantai Gan told about 200 pulse growers at a workshop in Swift Current. Because chickpeas are so susceptible to ascochyta blight, Gan said growers should do everything they can to minimize the risk, which includes choosing […] Read more